How Luxury brands save cultural heritage
After the tragic fire at Notre Dame de Paris the first ones to donate massive sums to restore the cathedral were two giants of the fashion world: LVMH and Kering. This is not a one-off initiative. Luxury brands have a history of generosity towards the cultural heritage. Chanel is restoring Grand Palais, Cartier helps to preserve a unique rhinestone lamp — a very important exhibit at the Hermitage. Fendi donated €2.5 million to restore Rome’s Trevi fountain. Prada is currently restoring an XVII century palace that will later house the Modern Art Patronage Foundation.
Luxury brands are frequent art patrons who not only care about cultural heritage but also profit from it. History of many luxury brands stems from cities they were founded in. Restoration is a nice way to secure a fashion show at a historic venue.
Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel’s fashion department, admits that the house cares about both supporting the fashion culture and have an opportunity to hold main shows at Grand Palais at Champs Elysees. The house patrons Galliera fashion museum in cooperation with which it has also taken part in restoring permanent exhibition halls of Grand Palais that are now named after Gabrielle Chanel. “We prioritize creativity; creativity is not just the designer’s sketch, it is the shops which turn it into a real thing, and the venues to show it at” Bruno comments.
Renzo Rosso, owner of Diesel, Maison Margiela, and Marni, and CEO of Only The Brave, is no stranger to the mastery of good investments. In 2015 Only The Brave foundation donated €5 million to restore the famous Rialto bridge in Venice, Italy, the first and the oldest bridge cross the Grand Canal. The mayor alongside the city’s authorities let the companies place an ad banner to conceal the restoration works. This is the only time Rialto bridge served as a billboard. The company’s name was seen by the locals, thousands of tourists, and the guests of the Venice Biennale.
Many companies deny getting any benefit from charity. Bvlgari restored Rome’s famous Spanish Steps to mark its 130th. The endeavor set the house back over €1.5 million. In 1995 the company opened a boutique called Old Curiosity Shop in Via Condotti, next to the steps, Its archive contains photos of cinema divas — with Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Sofia Loren, and Anita Ekberg among them — wearing Bvlgari jewels on the steps.
For many years the steps housed the Women Under Starlight show of high Italian fashion whose participants have included Armani, Ferre, Cavalli, and Versace. In 2003 the show was called off. Who knows, maybe the renewed steps will make Rome a competitor to Milan in terms of fashion. In 2016 Bvlgari financed the restoration of the mosaics at the Baths of Caracalla. Fan-like patterns of the mosaic inspired the company to create the Divas’ Dream watch collection which reflects some well-known motifs.
